Preliminary List of Flying Mammals in the Ajos-Bavispe
National Forest Reserve and Wildlife Refuge, Sonora
Rosa Elena Jiménez
CONANP, Reserva Forestal Nacional y Refugio de Fauna Silvestre Ajos-Bavispe, Cananea, Sonora
Christ D. Weise
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Yuma, Arizona
Mario Cirett-Galán, Guadalupe Flores, and Manuel Munguia
CONANP, Reserva Forestal Nacional y Refugio de Fauna Silvestre Ajos-Bavispe, Cananea, Sonora
E. Isaías Ochoa
Naturalia, A.C., Hermosillo, Sonora
Abstract—Information on bat communities, including their composition, abundance, distribution and ecology,
can support management programs in protected areas, and also provide information and initiatives for the
designation of new protected areas. In 2010 and 2011, monitoring was conducted in the Ajos Mountains,
a sky island, that is part of the Ajos Bavispe Reserve. During this period of time, we recorded a total of eight
species (Myotis californicus, Myotis auriculus, Myotis volans, Myotis thysanodes, Lasiurus cinereus, Lasiurus
blossevillii, Eptesicus fuscus y Choeronycteris mexicana), in riparian and oak-pine forests. This preliminary
species list will assist in assessing ecosystem health in this part of the reserve and provides an example of
the monitoring we are hoping to extend to the other Sky Islands within the Ajos-Bavispe Natural Protected
Area: La Madera, El Tigre, Buenos Aires and La Purica. The intention of this paper is to use the information
we have gathered on abundance and distribution of bat species as a tool to assess the conservation status
and ecosystem health of these Sky Islands. Bats are a good indicator taxon because they are abundant,
diverse, and relatively easy and cost effective to monitor. As a result the status of bat communities (composition and abundance) will support conservation and management decisions in the short and long term in
this important protected area.
Introduction
Research on the abundance, diversity, distribution, ecology, and
species composition is an essential part of the development and implementation of management programs in natural protected areas (Kalko
1993). Therefore, it is necessary to develop projects and monitoring
protocols for natural protected areas to complement and guarantee the
conservation of the ecosystems with proper management of resources
over time.
Castner and others (1996) conducted an inventory of bats in wet
Beaver Creek Wilderness Area (Coconino National Forest) to establish
a bat management project which implies the importance of and results
in the preservation of bats. The National Forest Reserve and Refuge
Fauna Silvestre Ajos- Bavispe (RFN y RFS Ajos-Bavispe), are the
oldest reserves of Mexico. They were designated in the first decree in
1936 and included barely 21,494 hectares of national land formed by
In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Ffolliott, Peter F.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane
G.; Collins, Loa C., comps. 2013. Merging science and management in
a rapidly changing world: Biodiversity and management of the Madrean
Archipelago III; 2012 May 1-5; Tucson, AZ. Proceedings. RMRS-P-67.
Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky
Mountain Research Station.
252
the mountains of “Los Ajos”, “Buenos Aires” and “Purica”. By 1939,
the Presidential Decree was ratified adding a total of 184 000 hectares
including the sierras “El Tigre” and “Pilares of Teras”, “Pilares of
Nacozari”, “San Diego”, and “la Madera”. RFN y RFS Ajos-Bavispe
is located in the physiographic region of the Sierra Madre Occidental
(CONANP 2001). These ranges are part of the region called islands
of the sky (The Sky Islands) and are known to be complex systems
with uniquely high biodiversity (McLaughlin 1995; Warshall 1995).
Information on flora and fauna of Ajos Bavispe, a Protected Natural
Area (ANP) has been collected in recent years; however, information on volant mammals (bats) in the ANP is not known. We believe
that bats can be used as indicators to assess the conservation status
of different ecosystems present within the reserve, because of their
diversity, and the relative ease and cost effectiveness of monitoring
bats.
The order Chiroptera is ecologically diverse and has a global.
distribution The development of flight and the sophisticated sensory
adaptations (echolocation) of these flying mammals has allowed bats
to inhabit extremely diverse habitats and has provided them with the
ability to exploit a wide variety of resources for food (Sampaio and
others 2003, Ávila Flores and Medellín 2004).
This study is intended to provide an inventory of bats for the RFN
y RFS Ajos-Bavispe and thus identify sites with greatest diversity and
abundance. This information will be used for planning and decision
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-67. 2013
Preliminary List of Flying Mammals in the Ajos-Bavispe National Forest Reserve . . .
making of refuge management when prioritizing conservation actions
and habitat protection.
Methodology
Sampling was conducted in section 4 of the RFN y RFS Ajos-Bavispe
situated in the Sierra Los Ajos in Gallery forests and pine-oak forest.
In addition abandoned buildings, caves and mine adits were sampled.
All sample sites were near perennial water sources. The sample sites
are: Cañon de Evans, La Sal and El Guerigo (fig. 1).
The monitoring took place in October 2010 and May, July and
August 2011, by surveying for bats with mistnets (Ávila and Medellín, 2004; Rabe and Rosenstock 2005). Three to four mistnets of 3,
6, 9 and 12 m (Martinez 2007; Sánchez and Medellín 2007) were
deployed at sunset. Sampling was concluded when bat activity was
no longer detectable or when weather conditions (i.e. low temperatures, high winds or rain) necessitated closing the nets. The mist nets
were installed close to or over bodies of water, and in flyways used
by bats (Lopez and Garcia 2006). For the monitoring in abandoned
buildings, caves or mines hand nets were used to capture and identify
bats (Lopez and Garcia 2006).
Captured bats were identified and sex, age (adult or juvenile),
reproductive status (pregnant, nursing, post-lactante, scrotal, nonbreeding, not scrotal), weight, forearm length and ear length (Ávila
and Medellín 2004; Lopez and Vaughan 2004; Russell and others 2005;
López and García 2006; Sánchez and Medellín 2007;) were recorded.
For species identification a key to the bats of Mexico (Medellín and
Jiménez and others
others 2008) was used and when necessary we consulted experts to
assist in species determination. For taking measurements we used
dial calipers (DialMax) and a ruler, mass was measured with a pesola
scale (100 g) and photos were taken of all captured bat species.
Results and Discussion
During our surveys in 2010-2011 we recorded a total of eight bat
species (Choeronycteris mexicana, Myotis auriculus, Myotis californicus, Myotis thysanodes, Myotis volans, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus
blossevilli and Lasiurus cinereus) in our study sites. These species
represent two families of bats Phyllostomidae (leaf-nosed bats) and
Vespertilionidae (Vesper or evening bats) (table 1). Our sample
recorded 34% of the 23 possible species that may occur in this area
according to distribution maps in Medellín and others (2008).
Choeronyteris mexicana was found in an abandoned cabin in the
months July and August and we estimated the number of individuals
by having three observers count individuals at the same time. This
method yielded a result of 90 to 100 estimated individuals. The discovery of this colony for the ANP is important evidence that the Ajos
Mountains are being used as a roost by this important pollinating bat
species which is listed as threatened in the NOM-059 (SEMARNAT
2010). We plan to monitor this roost at Güerigo regularly in order
to obtain additional information on size and times of roost use. This
information will assist in determining the actions necessary for protection of this colony by the ANP.
Figure1—This map depicts the monitoring locations for bats in the Los Ajos Mountains.
USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-67. 2013
253
Jiménez and others
Preliminary List of Flying Mammals in the Ajos-Bavispe National Forest Reserve . . .
r
Table 1—Displays the documented species in RFN and RFS Ajos-Bavispe.
Family
Phyllostomidae
Vespertilionidae
Scientific name
Common name
Choeronycteris mexicana
Myotis auriculus Myotis californicus Myotis thysanodes Myotis volans Eptesicus fuscus
Lasiurus blossevilli Lasiurus cinereus Murciélago nariz de cochi
Miotis Suroeste
Murciélago de California
Miotis Bordado
Murciélago de patas largas
Murciélago grande café
Murciélago rojo occidental
Murciélago canoso
This species uses a wide range of habitats including desert scrub,
deciduous tropical forests and pine-oak forests (Arroyo - Cabrales
and others 1987). Our study found C. mexicana associated with oak
forest and forest galleries represented mainly by Quercus oblongifolia, Quercus eggersii, Juniperus deppeana and forest of galleries
represented chiefly by alder (Platanus wrightii), alamos (Populus
fremontii), and güerigos (Populus brandengeei).
Arroyo-Cabrales and others (1987) writes that for C. mexicana migration to Arizona and New Mexico may take place in June, however,
we recorded the presence of this colony in July and August 2011; it is
clear that more population and ecological data of this colony is needed
to understand this species spatial and temporal use of the habitat in the
Sky Island region. A better understanding of its dynamics is needed
to make decisions for species conservation. Myotis auriculus, Myotis
californicus, Myotis thysanodes, Myotis volans, Eptesicus fuscus,
Lasiurus blossevilli, Lasiurus cinereus, were found in Oak-Juniper
Forests and forest riparian forests represented mainly by Quercus arizonica, Juniperus deppeana, Acer grandidentatum, Platanus wrightii,
with perennial water sources. Even though these species may occur
in various types of habitat, the habitat they use is usually in good
condition (Shump and Shump 1982, Warner Richard 1982, Warner
and Czaplewsky 1984; Simpson 1993; Avila and Fenton 2005). As
preliminary result we can assume that the Canyon de Evans and La
Sal are in good condition and we recommended the use these sites
as permanent monitoring stations to obtain abundance, diversity, and
community structure data for the bat species present in the reserve.
No settlements or anthropogenic activities (i.e. livestock, agriculture)
are within these sampled sites. They are nationally owned lands which
have resulted in a good quality of habitat, as mentioned above these
three sites have perennial water sources. For the Cañon of Evans and
la Sal, we recorded the presence of Ambystoma rosaceum which are
indicators of good water quality (Rorabaugh 2008) and complement
the ecological importance of these sites in the Sierra Ajos.
A greater sampling effort is needed at the study sites, especially
in the early spring. Bat surveys at additional sites within the Ajos
mountains are necessary for a comprehensive assessment of the area.
Also it is important to include Sierra del Tigre, Madera and the Purica
which are part of the ANP in future sampling efforts.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Erin Fernandez, Jim Rorabaugh, Scott Richardson, Cat
Crawford, Gerardo Carreon for their teachings in field and sharing
their knowledge. Nalleli Lara, Alejandro González, Heli Colonel for
their support in field.
254
Number of individuals
90-100
7
5
6
2
7
2
4
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The content of this paper reflects the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented herein.
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